Staff

Vandell Hampton, Jr., President & CEO

Vandell Hampton Jr., currently serves as President & CEO of First State Community Loan Fund (CLF), where he is responsible for the overall management and operation of the Loan Fund. Mr. Hampton has served in this capacity since 2004. Under his leadership, First State CLF has disbursed over $20 million in financing to small businesses and community organizations throughout Delaware and in southeastern Pennsylvania.

Prior to joining First State CLF, Mr. Hampton worked with The Enterprise Center in Philadelphia, a small business incubator, where he managed a micro-loan fund and was heavily involved in the consulting and technical assistance activities. Mr. Hampton spent seven years with USDA, Rural Development, where he financed single-family homes and water and sewer systems for small towns in rural Delaware and Maryland.

Mr. Hampton received his Bachelors of Science in Marketing from Delaware State University in 1993 and a Master of Science in Management, with a concentration in Public Administration, from Wilmington University in 2013.

Rachel Baldini, Vice President, Director of Lending

Rachel Baldini serves as Director of Lending for First State Community Loan Fund. She manages all lending activities, which includes loans made under small business and community development programs. Such lending activities include loan underwriting, loan origination, loan servicing, and portfolio management. She has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Finance and Business Administration from the University of Delaware. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Wilmington, DE Chapter of the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC).

Sheila Harrigan, Portfolio Manager

Sheila Harrigan serves as Community Lending Team Leader for First State CLF. Since 1997, Sheila has been responsible for oversight of the First State CLF lending process, which includes underwriting, portfolio management, collections and loan servicing. Prior to joining First State CLF, she worked as a certified housing counselor with NCALL where she was responsible for providing home ownership counseling for low to moderate income families enabling them to qualify for affordable home mortgages. Sheila has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Social Sciences from The College of New Rochelle, New York. She also has certifications in both Business and Community Development and Affordable Housing, and is appointed as a Notary Public for the State of Delaware. She currently serves with the following community organizations: Neighborhood House CDC Executive Board, Delaware State University Food Business Incubator Center for Enterprise Development, Advisory Board, as well as provides consulting and technical assistance to several non-profit entities throughout the State and is an ordained Pastor at Perfecting the Saints Ministry.

Clinton Tymes, Technical Assistance Coordinator

Clinton Tymes currently serves as the Technical Assistance Coordinator for First State CLF. In this position he is responsible for the development, implementation and coordination of the many business support programs at First State CLF. Mr. Tymes joined First State CLF in 2013, after a twenty-five year career with the University of Delaware, where he held the position of State Director of the Delaware Small Business Development Center Network (SBDC). Over his career, he has also owned and operated an office equipment business and worked in a variety of marketing support and financial positions in the manufacturing sector.

Mr. Tymes has served on numerous boards including: President of the Delaware Quality Consortium, the Small Business and Agricultural Council for the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank, Chairman of the Board of the National Association of Small Business Development Centers, the Christiana Care Advisory Board, the Greater Brandywine Village Revitalization, Inc., the Board of Junior Achievement, the Delaware Council on Economic Education and Entrepreneurship, the Bear-Glasgow YMCA, and the Delaware Money School. He received his BA and MBA degrees from Wilmington University.

Delores Lee, Program Assistant, Women Business Center

Delores Lee is a longstanding employee of First State CLF. She has been with the organization since 1998 and has held several positions. Currently, Ms. Lee serves as Program Assistant for the Women’s Business Center (WBC) at First State Community Loan Fund. Along with her duties at the WBC, Ms. Lee also provides administrative support to the President & CEO. Prior to joining First State CLF, Delores served as Administrative Assistant to the Vice President of Marketing for the Lincoln Insurance Group.

Ms. Lee holds a B.A. in Theological Studies from Palmer Theological Seminary and currently pursuing her Master’s degree in Theological Studies also at Palmer. Ms. Lee serves on the Ministerial Staff at the Mother African Union Church in Wilmington, the Board of Directors for both the Peter Spencer Family Life Foundation and the Community Services Building Corporation.

Delores and her husband Thomas live in Newark, Delaware.

Deborah Harrison, Finance Manager

Deborah Harrison serves as Finance Manager for First State CLF. In this capacity, Ms. Harrison is responsible for managing the day-to-day accounting and finance functions, managing investment capital, managing the external audit process, and compliance and reporting to the Board, investors and other funders. Ms. Harrison’s career spans over 25 years in the accounting sector, working with both for-profit and non-profit organizations. Ms. Harrison has studied at both Virginia Commonwealth University and J. Sargent Reynolds Community College in Virginia.

Sara Crawford-Jones, Program Director

Sara Crawford Jones is responsible for developing and implementing all WBC programming. She works closely with all community partners and stakeholders to ensure collaboration and execution of needed services to all nascent and existing small businesses with an emphasis on Women-owned businesses. Sara works closely with Federal, State, County and City officials to ensure the WBC is the best in the nation.